DOJ, BAP to formalize cooperation vs online fraud

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday said it was closely coordinating with the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) to improve their cybersecurity system following recent incidents of online fraud.

Charito Zamora, head of the DOJ’s Office of Cybercrime (OOC), said her office was already drafting a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the DOJ and BAP to formalize their cooperation in protecting bank depositors against hackers and cyber criminals.

The agreement, she said, would “promote a genuine atmosphere of collaboration and alliance through an effective and efficient partnership.”

“Even pending the approval of the MOU, the OOC has been consistently cooperating with the BAP through capacity building and [raising] public awareness on cybercrime,” Zamora said in a statement.

Stronger coordination

She said having a stronger coordination and communication system would help the DOJ and the country’s financial institutions thwart fraudulent online transactions and respond better to cyber-related crimes.

Two weeks ago, a number of clients of BDO Unibank shared on social media that they lost hundreds of thousands of pesos through unauthorized online fund transfers to a UnionBank account owned by a certain Mark Nagoyo.

BDO subsequently confirmed that some 700 of its account holders had fallen victim to a “sophisticated fraud technique” done through its online banking platform.